In the field of LTE, heterogeneous networks (HetNet) are used. A HetNet is composed by deploying small base stations in an existing macro-cell network. It can boost the system capacity and satisfy high user equipment (UE) traffic demand, but may cause severe interference to UEs. For instance, a macro-UE close to a Home eNB (HeNB) or a pico-UE close to a macro-eNB can hardly be served due to the heavy interference. Time Domain (TDM) enhanced Inter-Cell Interference-Coordination (eICIC) may be used to offer protection to these victim UEs. It may prevent some base stations from having data transmission in certain subframes, and hence may improve the channel condition of the victim UEs. These subframes are referred to as the Almost Blank Subframes (ABS), and the rest are normal subframes, known as non-ABS. A drawback of TDM eICIC is that the interference will change dramatically in time domain, depending on the muting pattern.
Further, Outer Loop Link Adaptation (OLLA) may be used in the base station for the link adaptation and packet scheduling process. It adjusts the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report based on information received by the UE. By doing so, OLLA may better align the CQI report with the actual channel condition, and may help control the Block Error Rate (BLER) for first transmissions even with imperfect CQI information.
According to 3GPP, UEs in a HetNet with TDM eICIC should be configured with separate CQI measurements for ABS and non-ABS. This guarantees the receiver side BLER performance, but is not supported by the legacy (i.e. old) UEs. The legacy UEs have to follow one CQI measurement pattern, and the estimated interference is averaged in time domain across a certain time window. Therefore, the interference variation due to TDM eICIC is not directly reflected in the CQI report of the legacy UEs. If the conventional OLLA is applied, a very high OLLA offset should be used to satisfy the BLER target. This prevents the legacy UEs from benefiting from TDM eICIC, and causes poorer spectral efficiency.
In view of the above-described situation, there exists a need for an improved technique that provides a cellular communication system substantially avoiding or at least reducing one or more of the above-identified problems. Hence, a system or method being able to provide efficient and improved configuration of a communication channel may be needed.